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Here is a important message from the American Alliance for Taxpayer Access,
posted in Peter Suber's Open Access News, about the need for US citizens to
contact their senators in order to support the NIH Green OA Self-Archiving
Mandate against the anti-OA publishing
lobby:http://www.earlham.edu/~peters/fos/2007/09/time-to-contact-senate.html
Time to contact the Senate
An alert from the Alliance for Taxpayer Access:
As the Senate considers Appropriations measures for the 2008 fiscal year this
fall, please take a moment to remind your Senators of your strong support for
public access to publicly funded research and specifically ensuring the
success of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Public Access Policy by
making deposit mandatory for researchers.
Earlier this summer, the House of Representatives passed legislation with
language that directs the NIH to make this change. The Senate Appropriations
Committee approved a similar measure. Now, as the Appropriations process moves
forward, it is critically important that our Senators are reminded of the
breadth and depth of support for enhanced public access to the results of
NIH-funded research. Please take a moment to weigh in with your Senator now.
Contact information for your Senator is here. Please fax a letter with your
support no later than Friday, September 28, 2007.
Feel free to draw upon the following talking points:
? American taxpayers are entitled to open access on the Internet
to the peer-reviewed scientific articles on research funded by the U.S.
government. Widespread access to the information contained in these articles is
an essential, inseparable component of our nation's investment in science.
? The Fiscal Year 2008 Labor/HHS Appropriations Bill reported
out of committee contains language directing the National Institutes of Health
(NIH) to change its Public Access Policy so that it requires NIH-funded
researchers to deposit copies of agency-funded research articles into the
National Library of Medicine's online archive.
? Over the more than two years since its implementation, the
NIH's current voluntary policy has failed to achieve any of the agency's stated
goals, attaining a deposit rate of less than 5% by individual researchers. A
mandate is required to ensure deposit in NIH's online archive of articles
describing findings of all research funded by the agency.
? We urge the Senate to support the inclusion of language put
forth in the Labor/HHS Appropriations bill directing the NIH to implement a
mandatory policy and ensuring free, timely access to all research articles
stemming from NIH-funded research without change in any appropriate vehicle.
(We'll be making additional resources for patient advocates including the
recording of our August 30 Web cast and specific talking points available
shortly as well. Watch the ATA Web site or email me directly for updates.)
Again, please take a moment to express your support for public access to
research to your Senator as soon as possible and no later than September 28. As
always, we'd appreciate it if you'd let us know of what action you're able to
take, or send a copy your letter to the ATA through (202) 872-0884 (fax). Thank
you!
Comments by Peter Suber:
Publisher associations are lobbying hard against this bill. For example, the
AAP/PSP launched PRISM, the behemoth Copyright Alliance weighed in, and
Elsevier hired another lobbying firm. It's critical that we show the Senate
our support for a stronger OA policy at the NIH. If you're a US citizen,
please contact your Senators and spread the word to others who could do so.
I've omitted the list of Senators with their fax numbers, but it's in the ATA
message if you need it. For other kinds of contact info for your Senators (DC
office, DC phone, local offices, local phones, email), use CongressMerge.
Remember to act before September 28!
Peter Suber
